(Pictured:Â Benjie Fraser) Big super funds, most of which are insourcing an increasing amount of their investment management activities, are likely to always retain a significant element of external management, according to Benjie Fraser. The London-based JP Morgan managing director and global pensions executive addressed an IMCA meeting in Australia earlier this month. Fraser, who has…
 (Pictured: Ben Thornley) Ben Thornley, journalist-turned impact investing advisor to the likes of the CalPERS pension fund, has started his own consulting firm and also co-authored a book which is a definitive guide to the nascent field: “The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism”. The new firm, ICAP Partners, based in the…
By Matthew Peter and Drew Klease* Love him or loathe him, Karl Marx had a way with words. “History repeats itself: first as tragedy, second as farce” is among his most memorable quotes. While Marx might be turning in his grave as investment industry people selectively use his words, they are utterly appropriate as there…
 (Pictured: Matt Christensen) AXA Investment Managers, which has been running a A$300 million global impact investing fund-of-funds operation for the AXA group’s fiduciary funds over the past 18 months, will next year launch a similar fund for external clients. Matt Christensen, AXA IM’s Paris-based head of responsible investing, was in Australia last week talking to super…
Your occasional Investor Strategy News correspondent is quite a fan of the ASFA annual conference. It has that ‘trade show’ feel about it: a place where you can catch up with events, and a place where people become friends. For sponsors, it’s a place of opportunity, for delegates a place for the curious. This year…
 (Pictured: Tony Freeman) China goes live today (November 17) with its latest initiative to boost the level of institutional investment, particularly from foreign investors, in the main Shanghai share market – the Shanghai-Hong Connect, known as the ‘through train’. Tony Freeman, the head of global industry relations for the industry-owned Omgeo trading services group, says it…
State Street and systems provider FNZ Australia have announced that State Street’s Australian clients will now have access to FNZ’s wealth management technology solutions under a new arrangement which should be of interest to super funds, managers and dealer groups looking to offer new-style member directed investment options. This combined solution will bring together FNZ’s…
The sale for NAB’s custody and asset servicing business has come to an end – not with a prospective buyer, but with an announcement from the company that it is going to “leverage key partnerships and invest in technology to further cement its position as Australia’s leading custodial services provider.” Favourites Northern Trust and State…
(Pictured:Â Michael Block) by Greg Bright Michael Block is set to return to Australia, after a two-year stint in Papua New Guinea, as the new CIO of the big Australian Catholic Superannuation Retirement Fund. Welcome back Michael. We’ve missed you. And this is why. With the retirement from full-time duties of its well-regarded CIO, Anne Whittaker,…
(Pictured:Â James Gruver) The waters, in the search for alpha, have been muddied of late because of the – possibly – incompatible search for yield. Well, how about emerging markets credit? That seems to tick both boxes. James Gruver, well known to the market from his former role as head of BNY Mellon in Australia, has…
